Talking About Baking

Posted on: 2 June 2016

The beach in summertime is one of the most gorgeous places you can have your wedding reception, and you have your big meal all planned out to complement the setting perfectly – but now you're completely out of ideas on foods for cocktail hour. Short of recycling some of your planned dishes in a smaller form and slapping them on a cracker, what are you to do? Don't panic just yet – because here are a couple of hors d'oeuvre ideas that will go perfectly with your romantic summertime beach wedding.

Fruit and Cheese

Take an old, classic hors d'oeuvre – that of pairing a piece of fruit with a complementing cheese beneath it – and give it an island flair by using only tropical fruits like pineapple, mango, pomegranate, papaya, and kiwi. Some recommended fruit/cheese combos are blue cheese (such as Roquefort) and pineapple, brie and kiwi, goat cheese and pomegranate, and pepperjack and mango. Remember to bring your cheeses to room temperature at least an hour before serving, so the flavors have time to develop.

Seafood Medallions

Just a bite of exquisitely cooked seafood medallions served on a thin cracker (a plantain chip would be even better) with a hint of citrus squeezed on top can be a perfectly satisfying hors d'oeuvre that's also incredibly easy to eat. Though mini crab cakes are probably your first thought, fish such as lobster and tuna can also make particularly good candidates for medallions, especially when paired with a hint of tarragon or cilantro and lime sauces.

Shrimp

Grilled, sautéed, stir-fried – it really doesn't matter how you cook them, as shrimp are both delicious and seemingly custom-made for hors d'oeuvres due to the fact that the tail acts as a built-in handle for your guests' fingers to grab. Whether you go traditional and serve cooked and cooled shrimp in shot glasses with some cocktail sauce or add a bit more creativity with coconut shrimp, your guests are sure to enjoy this deliciously beachy finger food.

Sushi

What beach-themed cocktail hour would be complete without sushi? In order to make your sushi as close to your theme as possible, try borrowing flavor combinations from Hawai'ian sushi, rather than relying solely on sushi staples from mainland Japan. Incorporating ingredients such as pieces of lemon, Spam, avocado, mango, and ahi, along with many other flavors can help to create a more immersive – and certainly more distinct –culinary experience for all of your guests.

Reception halls, like Halls of St. George, can assist in planning the menu for your big day.